RED TRINITY
A Play
By Mark Dickman
Scene One.
December, 1922. Lenin’s quarters late at night. He sits in a wheelchair at his desk writing furiously away. The sound of a clock can be heard ticking. Krupskaya, his wife and lifelong comrade, enters in her nightdress from the adjoining bedroom. She stands behind him, massaging his back and shoulders.
KRUPSKAYA: Come to bed, Volodya, it’s nearly
Three a.m. Ah, you feel so tense,
Like a bunched up fist. Yet again
Ignore your doctor’s orders.
They’ve warned you time after
Time against overwork: you’re th
Worst patient they’ve ever treated,
They tell me. You must heed their
Advice, my dear, especially now,
When you’re well nigh irreplaceable,
And our country stands like a fortress
Besieged by hostile imperialist powers.
LENIN: (He lays his pen down, closes his notebook and turns to her.)
Lately I’ve had the uncanny sensation
Of a driver when he feels his vehicle’s
Not moving in the direction in which
He steers it. I’ve gripped the wheel
With all my might but forces beyond
My control have taken over…
(He lifts his notebook from the desk and places it in her hands.)
Between bouts of insomnia I’ve
Been writing my will: my warning to
The party in case I’m stricken down
Once again-
KRUPSKAYA: Perhaps a little warm milk would
Help you sleep-
LENIN: No – let me finish – while my mind
Is still intact!...Above all there’s the
Abuse of power and the danger of
A split in the party. I stand guilty
Before the workers for not having
Intervened sooner in this matter. As
The two most eminent members of
The Central Committee, Trotsky and
Stalin would be the chief antagonists.
Lev Davidovich is surely the most
Able of the party leaders, but I fear
His excessive self-confidence.
And despite all his gifts, he lacks
Political acumen. As for Stalin,
He possesses that quality in
Abundance; but his bullying of our
Georgian comrades requires his
Instant removal from office. As
General secretary, he has
Enormous power: and he’s shown
That he’ll us it like a czarist thug.
He must be replaced immediately,
Otherwise the conflict between he
And Trotsky could have dangerous
Consequences for our party…
KEUPSKAYA: I hesitated to mention it to you –
Given your doctor’s warnings,
Fearing it might alarm you – but
He was quite rude to me last week
When I was collecting facts for you
Concerning the Georgian affair –
LENIN: That brutal son of a bitch!
KRUPSKAYA: In the last thirty years I’ve never
Heard a single coarse word from
A comrade. Why, he even
Threatened to have me prosecuted
Before the party commission for
Having violated your physician’s
Orders! Certainly, the interestsof
The party and my own husband’s
Health are no less dear to me than
To him!
LENIN: That he dare to question your
Devotion to me and the party!
KRUPSKAYA: I tell you, Volodya, my nerves are
At the breaking point. I need all
The self-control that I can muster…
LENIN: I’ve written to him, Nadyezhda;
Broken off all personal relations.
What he’s done to you has been
Aimed at me as well. I never will
Forget this. He’s creating his own
Machine – the same old czarist
Apparatus – that Great Russian
Chavinist, that bureaucratic
Scoundrel. And I’ve concluded
A bloc with Lev Davidovich
Against him, urged him to show
No weakness nor vacillation. I’ll
Have no “rotten compromises” in
This matter. What you now hold
In your hands is the bombshell I’ll
Explode before the congress. I’ll
Crush him if it’s the last thing I do!
Scene Two.
Stalin’s office. Seated before him are Zinoviev and Kamenev.
STALIN: As long as Trotsky has Lenin’s
Confidence, we must handle
Him with a pair of kid gloves.
ZINIVIEV: Yes, we don’t want our dirty
Laundry exposed before
The party congress. Let’s
Propose he address it as
Rapporteur: flatter him by
Offering him the honor of
Speaking in Lenin’s place.
KAMENEV: And let him give the major
Address on the economy-
ZINOVIEV: Let the “super-planner” spout
Off on his favorite obsession.
No one will comprehend it
And he’ll scare the younger
Delegates to death.
STALIN: If he speaks in Vladimir Ilyich’s
Place, it’ll appear he hungers
For power. If not, he’ll lose his
Best chance to defeat us.
ZINOVIEV: Heads, he wins; tails, he loses.
(A knock is heard at the door. Trotsky enters and is seated before them.)
KAMENEV: Welcome, Lev Davidovitch. We
Trust that Natalya and the boys
Are in the best of health?
ZINOVIEV: We have been speaking of the
Coming party congress and the
Unfortunate fact that Vladimir
Ilyich will be indisposed.
KAMENEV: We believe that no one but
You could speak in his place,
Address the party congress
As rapporteur-
TROTSKY: At such a time as this, when Ilyich
Lies gravely ill, it would hardly be
Seemly for me to speak in his place.
STALIN: But surely someone must give the
Address, and there’s none more
Qualified.
TROTSKY: No, it might be seen as a bid for
Power while Vladimir Ilyich is
Still alive. I refuse to engage in
A game of succession over his
Still empty coffin. It would bring
Demoralization to the ranks: the
Very thought makes me shudder…
KAMENEV: Then we can return to this matter
Later. But we can count on you
Addressing the congress on
The question of the economy?
TROTSKY: Of course. I consider it of the
Direst necessity that we begin
The transition from NEP to a
Planned economy.
KAMENEV: And as for Lenin’s recent
Writings on the nationalities-
TROTSKY: In substance I agree with
Him entirely…
(Addressing Stalin.)
Your bullying of our Georgian
Comrades is inexcusable. Not
To speak of your rudeness to
Comrade Krupskaya.
ZINIVIEV: Comrade Stalin has already
Made amends, written to her
In apology. And he will, in his
Address on the nationalities,
Place due emphasis on their
Right to self-determination.
TROTSKY: In that case, I will not insist on
Reprisals: your expulsion from
The party. As for continuing
In the office of the general
Secretary, we can leave that
To the Politbureau to decide…
KAMENEV: We appreciate your magnanimity,
Lev Davidovich. This is hardly the
Time – with Valadimir Ilyich so
Gravely ill – to bring needless
Controversy before the party.
ZINOVIEV: We can go into further details
At the central committee meeting.
(Trotsky rises, nods to them and exits.)
ZINOVIEV: He simply takes it for granted
that Lenin will always be there
Beside him. Sees himself above
The fray, beyond mere “politics”.
KAMENEV: Nevertheless, if Vladimir Ilyich
Had been here –
ZINOVIEV: Then it would’ve been another
Story entirely!…
STALIN: While he’s in such a forgiving
Mood, we must prepare for the
Party congress: act behind
The scenes; place our people
In all the right places and
Positions.
ZINOVIEV: And warn the delegates
Against him. After all, hadn’t
Bonaparte, the “gravedigger”
Of the French Revolution,
Also rose to power as the
Triumphant leader of an army?
Scene Three.
The Twelfth Party Congress. Platform on the stage of a great Hall. Kamenev chairs the meeting. Zinoviev addresses the assembly in debate. Stalin is present. Trotsky, ill, is represented by Yoffe and Krupskaya. Kamenev uses the gavel to call the assembly to order.
ZINOVIEV: Comrades, I welcome you all
To this session of our Twelfth
Party Congress: the first and
Only one in which our great
Founder, comrade Lenin, has
Not been here to guide us.
Each of us waits and watches
Anxiously, hoping for his rapid
Recovery. But just because or
His absence, we must ask at
Every juncture: What would
Comrade Lenin have said? We
Must act on his principles and
Remain faithful to his words.
After all, we are but his humble
Followers, loyal disciples of his
Thought. And, in these perilous
Times, we must proceed with
Care and caution. For
Every criticism of Leninism—
However honestly made –
My, objectively, be a
Deviation from his thought.
Every criticism – however
Sincerely brought – may be
An unconscious deviation
From his thinking. Critics –
However genuine – may act as
Agents for our enemies; their
Words weapons to be used
Against us. Party discipline is
The order of the day. And
We, as your leaders, have
The sworn duty to suppress
Deviation, to ban all who’d
Form factions that threaten
To split our party. Comrades,
We communists are people
Of a special mold, made of
Special stuff. We form the
Vanguard of the army of the
Great proletarian strategist,
The army of comrade Lenin.
There is no higher honor than
To belong to such an army.
But it is not given to everyone
To be a member of our party.
From his sickbed comrade
Lenin enjoins us to hold his
Banner high, to preserve the
Purity of our party. We all
Vow to you, comrade Lenin,
That we shall fulfill your
Behest with our complete
Devotion. We know of only
A single antidote against error:
The teachings of our own
Comrade Lenin. And, though
He’s not here himself to guide
Us, his precepts remain to lead
Us, his precious writings are
The touchstones we must
Always consult. And if, at the
Present treacherous time the
Party warns against dangers,
You must always trust it: for
It is the single weapon forged
By history for the working
Class. What might not be
Troubles in normal times, may
Become doubly so today.
Finally, we must learn from
History – remembering our
Great precursor, the French
Revolution – and beware of
Potential Bonapartes, those
Ambitious ones, who’d seek
To rule over us, who’d cast
Themselves as kings above us!
(Thunderous applause from the floor.)
KAMENEV: (He use the gavel to call them to order.)
Comrade Yoffe is scheduled
To address us next.
YOFFE: (Yoffe rises from the stage and approaches the podium.)
As comrade Trotsky is ill,
And unable to address the
Congress , I am forced to
Speak on his behalf…
Comrade Zinoviev has
Spoken of the absence of
Vladimir Ilyich, and of our
Common concern for his
Health. With this we, no
Doubt, can all agree. But
Then he goes on to paint
A portrait of a man and his
Writings of a likeness that
Surely none can recognize!
Lenin would never allow
Himself to be regarded
As a saint, have his words
Treated as holy writ. Why,
He’d be the last to create
A cult around himself: a
Marxist church, with Pope
And gospels. Lenin, above
All, encouraged criticism,
Was the very spirit of harsh
Debate;
ZINOVIEV: I must object to this, comrade
Yoffe! I merely wish to show
Our enormous debt to
Vladimir Ilyich. How much
We owe to him and to his work
To guide us in these times
Of dire peril to our party.
YOFFE: I disagree, comrade Zinoviev.
You speak of “deviationism”
And of party discipline as if
You addressed a college of
Cardinals on the danger of
A schism in Holy Mother
Church! You take Lenin’s
Living words, embalm them
And claim for them papal
Infallibility. You would
Make Lenin god the father,
Stalin, his son, and
Trotsky, the unholy ghost!
(He’s drowned out by hissing and boos from the floor.)
Scene Four.
Lenin’s dacha at Gorki, outdoors. He is seated in a wheelchair – immobile – after his third stroke. Krupskaya sits beside him, holding his hand. An old-fashioned Victrola and a pile of 78 rpm records are on a table between them. The sound of crickets and occasional birdsong can be heard.
KRUPSKAYA: For much of the party congress
Lev Davidovich was ill. Adolph
Abramovich represented the
Opposition in a worthy manner,
But, at each and every turn,
We were put on the defensive.
The triumvirs took advantage,
Sought to please both sides,
Pandered to every prejudice
And fear. And Lev Davidovich
Failed to denounce the bullying
Of our Georgian comrades.
His report on the economy
Was brilliant, of course, but it
Was couched in terms so
General and elusive that few
Could grasp its meaning. It
Only frightened and confused
Most of the younger delegates.
Finally, he not only remained
Silent on democracy in the
Party, but had a letter read
Declaring his solidarity with
The triumvirs. He let his allies
Down, weakened himself
And aided his opponents…
(She takes Lenin’s hands to her lips and kisses them.)
Oh I can see by your eyes, my
Volodya, that you understand.
My lion caged, in a wheelchair
Confined, your great mind
Trapped in a crippled frame.
(She places a recording of Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata on the turntable.)
This was always your favorite,
Volodya, the “Appassionata”
Sonata. But you were always
So reluctant to expose yourself
To music. It made you feel soft,
You’d say, made you want to
Go round patting folks on the
Head. When what you had to
Was to be a hammer to knock
Some sense into their skulls,
Make them grasp the next
Link in the chain to lead the
Workers to self-emancipation.
Scene Five.
On a platform stand the triumvirs. Before them lies Lenin’s open coffin upon a bier. A stream of workers pass before it to pay their last respects. On the street level on the rights side of the stage stand Trotsky and Yoffe.
TROTSKY: I first learned of his death through
A message from Stalin. Though
Ill and away, I would’ve returned,
But was deliberately misinformed
As to the date of Lenin’s funeral.
YOFFE: It was a theatrical production in
The worst of taste: a cult of the
Leader; his Sacred Words. His
Body was embalmed – placed
Within a sarcophagus, standing
In the Hall of Columns—to be
Visited by workers like pilgrims
To view the relics of a saint.
TROTSKY: Just imagine what Ilyich would
Have said –
YOFFE: Treated like a waxwork in his
Own mausoleum!...And Stalin’s
Funeral oration revealed him to
Be the ex-seminary student we
Know him to be. It was a mixture
Of Marxist terminology and the
Orthodox prayer book!...
(Imitating Stalin’s oratory.)
Departing from us, comrade
Lenin enjoined us to guard the
Unity of our party as the apple
Of his eye. We vow to you,
Comrade Lenin, that we shall
Fulfill this behest with honor.
Departing from us, omrade
Lenin enjoined us to guard the
Dictatorship of the proletariat.
We vow to you, comrade Lenin,
That we shall spare no effort
To fulfill this, too, with honor.
On and on he went in this
Sacerdotal manner. And the
Saddest thing is that
No one saw through his airs.
TROTSKY: And what did Krupskaya say?
YOFFE: She spoke from the heart,
Asking that our mourning for him
Not take the form of reverence
For his person: the raising of
Memorials; the celebrating of
Solemn commemorative
Festivals. But, rather, that we
Should build kindergartens,
Libraries, hospitals in his
Honor. That, most of all,
That we always put his
Precepts into practice…
TROTSKY: U remember the first time I met
Him in London in the Iskra days.
Considerable intrigue existed
Among the editors, particularly
Between Plekhanov and Ilyich,
The old generation and the new.
Vera Ivanova would say that:
“Plekhanov is a greyhound. He
Shakes up his adversary, but
Finally lets him go. But Lenin
Is a bulldog with a deadly
Bite. He never lets his victim
Go.” That phrase pleased him,
“The deadly bite.” I remember
The twinkle I his eyes, his
Sly, Tartar grin…
YOFFE: I recall him horsing around with
Your boys, Segei and Lyova.
TROTSKY: Yes, he was mad about kids.
Regretted having none of his
Own. They’d often play in the
Kremlin corridor between our
Two apartments. And he loved
To laugh; it was one of his many
Child-like traits. His entire body
Shook as he fought to contain a
Fit of laughter, face turned red,
Tears brimming from his eyes.
YOFFE: Do you remember the day we
Learned of his first stroke?
TROTSKY: Yes, Bukharin had come to
Visit. I was ill and in bed.
YOFFE: “You, too, are ill and in bed?”
He’d said. “And who besides
Me?” you’d asked. “Lenin
Has had a stroke.” he’d replied.
“He can’t walk or talk. His
Doctors are utterly at a loss.”
TROTSKY: His condition grew worse; his
Headaches, more frequent.
He’d always been so robust,
We’d never imagined thathe
Might grow ill. Could even
Lenin be sick? Could he die?
YOFFE: But driven by his unyielding
Will, his body made a great
Recovery. His brain, that
Failed for lack of blood,
That lost the power of
Speech, suddenly revived.
TROTSKY: During my first meeting with
Him, afterwards, I remember
The dreadful look in his eyes.
“I couldn’t speak or write.”
He’d said. “I had to learn
Everything from scratch.”
YOFFE: He returned to work, but
At a heavy cost. Toward the
End the gave the impression
Of one hopelessly tired. The
Muscles of his face sagged,
The gleam had left his eyes,
He seemed a man doomed.
TROTSKY: His second stroke lasted
For more than ten months.
Improvement could be
Expected, even complete
Recovery, but catastrophe
Occurred: his great mind
Destroyed. For him death
Was a deliverance from
Suffering, from frustration
At being unable to act, when
He could see the betrayal of
The revolution all around him.
Scene Six.
Central Committee Meeting. Triumvirs. Trotsky. Yoffe. Krupskaya is in the midst of reading Lenin’s will.
KRUPSKAYA: Our party relies on two classes.
Its instability is possible and its
Downfall inevitable if conflict
Arises between them. Nothing
Could prevent a split in such a
Case. To avoid this, I must
Address the personalities of
Our Central Committee. Chief
Among them, are comrades
Trotsky, Stalin, Zinoviev,
Kamenev and Stalin. Having
Become general secretary,
Comrade Stalin has great
Power in his hands; and I
Suspect he might well abuse
It. Comrade Trotsky, on the
Other hand, although the
Most able member of
The central committee, has
Been known to display an
Excessive self-confidence.
These qualities might well
Lead to a split in our party.
As for comrades Zinoviev
And Kameniev, I’m forced
To mention that their action
On the eve of October was
No accident; but it should
No longer be held against
Them. As for Bukharin, he
Is a theorist of considerable
Gifts, but there is something
Scholastic in his grasp of
Marxism…
(Krupskaya pauses to look at Stalin, then resumes reading.)
Comrade Lenin wrote the
Following a week later…
Stalin is too rude. And
This defect has become
Intolerable given his power.
As General Secretary. I
Strongly insist on his removal
From office. This is essential
To prevent a split in our party…
(Stalin is horrified. Zinoviev finally breaks the silence.)
ZINOVIEV: Certainly, comrade Stalin’s
Offenses are no so grave
That they justify his dismissal.
Since Lenin’s writing, he has
And continues to make amends.
If Vladimir Ilyich had witnesses
His remorse, his devotion to the
Party, he’d surely have relented.
KAMENEV: Comrade Trotsky, can’t you see
This? And comrade Krupskaya?
(Trotsky remains silent.)
KRUPSKAYA: Can I believe my ears?
You’d dare not act upon
Vladimir Illyich’s last will
And testament, his final
Words to the party that
He spent his entire life
Creating. If we fail to
Act upon his last wish
We would be forced to
Suppress the will entirely!
KAMENEV: But it would sow confusion
In the party if we dismiss the
General secretary at such a
Critical juncture when we’re
Attempting to recover from
Comrade Lenin’s death…
ZINOVIEV: I propose that we – at least for
The present time – leave the
Unpublished.
KAMENEV: I second the proposal.
BUKHARIN: All in favor?
(A large majority raises their hands.)
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Scene Seven.
Trotsky is ill in bed, reading a newspaper. His wife, Sedova, enters with a breakfast tray and sets it down on a table beside him. She pours a teaspoon of medicine from a bottle on the table and gives it to him. He folds the newspaper with an expression of disgust.
TROTSKY: Pravda continues its campaign
Against “Trotskyism”: an
Eruption of slander, of
Vituperation; filled with
Nothing but lies, repeated
Over and over again!
Day after day they serve
Up incidents from the
Past, confusing and
Falsifying them all. What
Have they made of our
Revolution, Natalya, of
Our party, of our state?...
SEDOVA: Take your medicine, Lev
Davidovitch. Did you get
Any sleep?
TROTSKY: No, I was up most of the
Night with a headache,
Fever. The medicine
Brought little relief.
SEDOVA: Our dear Lyova stood
Guard, as usual. Now I
Can tell him to get some
Sleep. I’m so proud of
That boy-
TROTSKY: As am I, Natalya.
SEDOVA: Of the role he’s played
In our opposition. Even
Sergei is starting to come
Around-
TROTSKY: No more circus girls and
Games for him, eh?
I’m expecting Adolphe
Abramovich shortly, to
Begin the organizing of
Our appeal to the workers.
SEDOVA: I received a letter from
Alexandra in Leningrad.
Of course she continues
The opposition work,
Together with Zina and
Nina and their families.
But all have been affected
By the vicious campaign
Against us. Their husbands
Have lost their jobs or been
Expelled from the party; and
Your daughters are ill with
Consumption, tormented
By fear and by anxiety.
TROTSKY: Knowing the life I’ve chosen,
I should’ve never married
Or had children. I have the
Right to take such risks on
My own, but not to impose
All this suffering on my family.
SEDOVA: Not at all, Lev Davidovitch,
Don’t you know how proud
Your sons and daughters are
To have such a father? Why,
Zina and Nina are thrilled
To be your daughters. Our
Boys would have no other
Father. If we share the joys,
Then we must also share the
Sorrows. You can’t have one
Without settling for the other.
(A knock is heard on the bedroom door. Yoffe enters and is seated beside Trotsky’s bed.)
SEDOVA: Welcome, Adolphe Abramovich.
I will leave the two of you
To talk of party affairs.
(She exits.)
TROTSKY: It’s good to have you, Adolphe
Abramovitch…
(He lifts the newspaper to show it to Yoffe.)
Can you believe the lies and
Filth they are publishing?...
(He opens the newspaper to find a story.)
Here’s a sensational piece that
Accuses our opposition of a
Military conspiracy to overthrow
The state! They claim we have
Joined with counter-revolutionary
Elements – former czarist officers –
And have sold state secrets to the
Imperialists, spreading “Trotskyist”
Propaganda.
YOFFE: Yes, and the Central Committee
Has begun a wave of explusions
For what they call “indiscipline”
And ”factional activities”. This
Is often followed by loss of work,
Or our members are transferred
To distant posts where they are
Out of touch, unable to organize.
TROTSKY: We are passing through a period
Of reaction. A political shifting of
Classes is taking place, as well as
A change in class consciousness.
The deep molecular process is
Rising to the surface and at its
Head is Stalin’s bureaucracy,
With its objective of eradicating all
The lessons of October.
YOFFE: Yes, Lev Davidovitch. During the
Rising tide of the revolution the
Slanders against us only
Strengthened us. But now, during
Its ebb, slander is the weapon of
The bureaucracy.
TROTSKY: Most of all, the workers are
Exhausted. The undertow is
So powerful that they founder
In it. The current regime is
Further from workers’
Democracy than it was during
The fiercest period of war
Communism.
YOFFE: The bureaucratization of the
Party has reached unheard-of
Proportions through the method
Of secretarial selection of
Delegates to party congresses
And conferences. But the
Actual power to nominate them
Is in the general secretary’s hands.
They’re appointed, as a rule, and
The voting takes place according
To a regular scheme. His agents
Enter a meeting, then the chairman
Asks: “All in favor?”; “All against?”
And because party members fear
Reprisal if they don’t vote for his
Candidate – especially because of
The threat of the sack, with
Unemployment so massive and the
Power of the “red managers” so
Great – that his nominee is
Automatically elected.
TROTSKY: Such is the steamroller with which
He packs our congresses. He’s
Transformed the process into a
Mockery of elections!
But his theory of “socialism in one
Country” expresses the mood
Of the times. If the working
Class were not so exhausted,
If they were sufficiently mature
To be inspired by international
Perspectives, then they would
Not succumb to such rubbish.
TROTSKY: Socialism in one country is the
Current opiate of the masses.
Before we were forced to bide
Our time; now it’s time to act.
Scene Eight.
Thirteenth Party Congress. Zinoviev addresses the assembly. Kamenev chairs. Stalin. Yoffe. Trotsky. Krupsksya.
ZONOVIEV: The master of the
Opposition is it theory
Of Permanent Revolution.
You prevent the workers
With the prospect of
Endless upheaval, when
They seek nothing so
Much as peace, stability.
You claim our revolution
Depends on the spread
Of others abroad, that
We are too weak to
Build socialism on our
Own. But, time after time,
We’ve seen others fail. In
Germany, Hungary and
China they have failed.
We cannot wait on others,
We must depend upon
Ourselves. The Russian
People must create it on
Our own; we cannot afford
To wait for others to come
To our aid. Furthermore, it
Is not enough that you lay
Down your arms, you must
Publicly recant before the
Party. You are liquidators
Of revolutionary principle,
Guilty of petty-bourgeois
Deviation from Leninism.
Further breach of party
Discipline will surely be
Grounds for your expulsion.
(Applause from the delegates. Kamenev brings them to order with his gavel.)
KAMENEV: Comrade Yoffe will be the
Next to address us.
YOFFEE: (He rises and approached the podium.)
Socialism can never be
Achieved within the borders
Of a single country, especially
One devastated by war, civil
Strife and famine. It requires
An international division of
Labor, the resources of many
Advanced industrial nations.
It cannot be built in backward
Mother Russia alone. Whats
More, to abandon hope in
Revolution abroad, is to cease
Working for it internationally.
You are turning the Comintern
Into an instrument of Soviet
Foreign policy, not a weapon
For proletarian revolution. In
The interest of protecting our
Country, you are steering our
Comrades abroad toward
Reform, sacrificing their future
To our narrow national interests.
KAMENEV: Comrade Krupskaya.
KRUPSKAYA: Comrade Trotsky has devoted
The whole of his powers to the
Fight during the decisive years
Of our revolution. He held out
Heroically in each of the posts
To which he was assigned. He
Worked with unexampled
Energy and accomplished
Wonders in safeguarding the
Victory of our revolution.
To dare suggest that he and
We of the opposition must
Recant is disgraceful! Are
We to be treated as heretics
And summoned before the
Holy Office, put to the question,
Forced to confess?
KAMENEV: Comrade Trotsky.
TROTSKY: Comrade Zinoviev, nothing would
Be easier than to admit before the
Party that we’ve erred. No great
Moral heroism is required. None
Of us – the the last instance – can
Be right against the party because
It is the only historic instrument
That the working class posseses
To solve its fundamental tasks. If
We’ve erred we’d gladly admit it,
But we haven’t. We refuse to retract
A single criticism. In England
They have a saying: “My country,
Right or wrong.” With much
Greater justification we can say:
“My party, right or wrong.” But
To accept the party’s verdict
Means submission in action, not
In thought. We cannot say we’re
Wrong in this instance, because
We were not wrong!...
(Booing and hissing from the delegates.)
Scene Nine.
Trotsky’s apartment. Yoffe. Zinoviev. Kamenev.
ZINOVIEV: No doubt our letters have
Informed you of our break
With the General Secretary.
We’ve been replaced by his
New hatchet man, Bukarin.
TROTSKY: So you’ve come to bury the
Hatchet, have you, Gregory?
KAMENEV: Lev Davidovitch, please,
We must make a clean
Break with the past, put aside
All of our differences. We must
Do it for the sake of the party!
YOFFE: How can we trust the two of
You after the vile campaign
You’ve waged against us?
KAMENEV: We were blind. We admit we
Concocted false accusations
Against you, that we slandered
You unmercifully, that we’ve
Invented the “spectre of
Trotskyism” –
ZINIVIEV: We simply didn’t understand
Him. He’s sly and cruel, cares
For nothing but power, is likea
Spider at the center of a web
Of intrigue that he’s constantly
Spinning all around him.
KAMENEV: It was like the bloody court
Conspiracies of the czars.
ZINOVIEV: Yes, he’s constantly scheming,
Offering bribes, threatening
Reprisals, removing your
Followers from office and
Replacing them with his pawns.
KAMENEV: You must do it for the good
Of the party, Lev Davidovitch!
We will publically admit you
Were right about the lack
Of democracy in the party
If you, in turn, apologize for
Criticisms of our mistakes on
The eve of October…
ZINIVIEV: And not refer to the tow of us
As “strike-breakers of the
Revolution.”
KAMENEV: We must join hands-
ZINOVIEV: And Krupskaya, no doubt, will
Ally herself with us. Our joint
Opposition would be more
Than a match for the General
Secretary and his cronies.
KAMENEV: And hopefully there will soon
Be a thaw, a revival among the
Workers. Their exhaustion
And indifference cannot go
On forever.
ZINOVIEV: We’ve both written letters
And deposited them in a
Safe place, describing all the
Dirt on Stalin and his plots
And schemes for power.
KAMENEV: These can be revealed to
The party in case we should
Suddenly “disappear”. We
Strongly advise you, Lev
Davidovitch, to do the same.
ZINOVIEV: Stalin is nothing: a coarse,
Clumsy, oaf; a half-educated
Bully and manipulator. Surely,
If we join our forces we’ll
Defeat him…
TROTSKY: Nothing, you call him? No,
He’s outflanked us at every
Turn. We can hardly share
Your high hopes, having been
The object, these many years,
Of you campaign of slander
And persecution, having felt
The full weight of the party
Machine to crush and isolate
All that dare be its critics.
ZINOVIEV: But we must forgive and
Forget for the sake of our
Common devotion to our
Party and the revolution.
YOFFE: It’s easy for you to say,
Gregory, having been on
The General Secretary’s side.
TROTSKY: For once he’s righ, Adolphe
Abramovich, there is no other
Way. But I can hardly share
Your optimism. I fear we
May already be too late.
And your hopes for a
Resurgence of the working
Class are also wishful
Thinking. The spirit of the
Times has changed. The
Workers are no longer the
Same. The are tired,
Confused, afraid of change.
Never the less, it’s not the
Business of revolutionaries
To bow to the reactionary
Mood of the masses. At
Such times we must be
Prepared to be alone, to
Act as the opposition. We
Must continue the fight
Whether we are destined
To end as Lenin did, in
Triumph, or as Leibnecht
Did, in martyrdom…The
Other day Krupskaya
Remarked to me that, if
Ilyich were alive today,
He’ be doing time in
One of Stalin’s prisons.
Scene Ten. Part One.
Factory. Rhythmic sounds of machinery in the background. Workers listen as Trotsky addresses them.
TROTSKY: Rumors emanating from the
General Secretary slander the
Opposition with the claim
We are engaged in a
Counter-revolutionary
Conspiracy. Who circulates
These rumors? All threads
Lead to Stalin. Only with
His approval could such a
Fraud be perpetrated. Of
Course he uses his minions
To spread these lies. But,
Behind this tide of obliquy
Lies the bankruptcy of his
Policies. He attempts to
Terrorize his opponents
And pack the next party
Congress against genuine
Discussion. Nevertheless, we
Intend to take our appeal to
You, spread our appeal to
You, spread our platform
By every means at our
Command. Through they expel
Us, remove us, send us into
Exile, we will challenge the
Apparatus and deny all its
False accusations-
(A group of thugs enter the factory armed with whistles and clubs.)
THUG 1: Menshivik traitor and slanderor!
THUG 2: Tool of the bourgeoisie!
THUG 3: Trotsky, the enemy, the Jew!
(They begin to whistle, shout, shake their fists and drown out his powerful voice. The workers do nothing to stopthem.)
Scene Ten. Part Two.
Opposition’s office. Workers are seated at desks typing and making leaflets on a mimeograph machine. Thugs break into the office and smash the typewriters and the mimeograph. They rough up and arrest the workers, then drag them off.
Scene Ten. Part Three.
Clandestine meeting in the forest. Evening. Whistling sound of the wind in the background. Kamenev address a group of workers.
KAMENEV: The General Secretary stifles all
Discussion, substituting threats
And sanctions, post his critics
To frozen wastes and desers.
They may accuse us, comrades,
Of whatever they like, but we
Are not yet living in the Middle
Ages. Witch trials cannot be
Staged. They will not burn us
At the stake-
(Thugs enter and disrupt the meeting.)
Scene Ten. Part Four.
Demonstration. Oppositionists with banners, signs and portraits of Marx, Lenin and Trotsky march down the street lined with workers. They chant, hand out leaflets, attempt to engage the onlookers in conversation.
WORKER1: What do we want?
WORKER 2: To honor Lenin’s thought!
WORKER 1: When do we want it?
WORKERS: Now!
(Repeated several times.)
WORKER 1: What do we want?
WORKERS: Inner-party democracy!
WORKER 1: When do we want it?
WORKERS: Now!
(Repeated several times.)
WORKER 1: What do we want?
WORKERS: Down with the bureaucracy!
WORKER 1: When do we want it?
WORKERS: Now!
(Enter a group of police, with clubs and shields, who attack the demonstrators, beat them, tear their banners and rip up their portraits and signs. Some of the demonstrators are chased off the stage.)
Scene Ten. Part Five.
Stalin’s office. Stalin and Bukharin.
BUKHARIN: Comrade Krupskaya was beaten
Up in yesterday’s demonstration.
Surely, that’s going too far?
STALIN: If she wishes to engage in acts
That are illegal, that contravene
Party discipline, then she must
Take her chances with the rest.
BUKHARIN: But Lenin’s widow, a fifty-year-
Old woman?
STALIN: If need be, I’ll appoint someone
Else to be Lenin’s widow…It was
Zinoviev, himself, who first
Suggested we expel Trotsky. At
That time I disagreed, believed
The method of amputation was
Fraught with the danger of
Infection. Today, however, it’s
Time to slice off the gangrenous
Limb. Now they’ve given us all
The evidence we need to expel
Them.
Scene Eleven.
Courtroom. Central Control Commission. Bukharin, as chief prosecutor, is seated on the right with Stalin. Trotsky is seated on the left with Yoffe, Zinoviev and Kamenev. In the middle upon a raised bench.
Of the tribunal of twelve party members is Ordjonikidze, who acts as chairman.
ORDJONIKIDZE: The accused have been charged
With two counts: engaging in a
Public demonstration against the
Party; and appealing to the working
Class in breach of party discipline.
In this, the final session of the
Praesidium of the Central Control
Commission, the Prosecutor will
Conclude his examination…
(Bukharin rises and stands before them.)
BUKHARIN: In a case of conspiracy, like the
One now before us, the prosecution
Bears the burden of proving the
Existence of a conspiratorial
Agreement, overt acts, and the
Specific intent of each party.
The overt acts alleged in the
Indictment consist of the
Following incidents. On the
Tenth anniversary of the
Revolution the accused staged
Its “appeal to the masses”.
Taking part in the official
Celebrations of November 7th,
You declared your demands
To the millions who took to
The streets. In close ranks
You marched with your
Own banners, chanting your
Slogans, slandering the party
And its policies. Your protest was
A transparent breach of party
Discipline. But we were not
Unprepared. We met you in the
Streets and defeated you before the
Masses. The police tore up your
Banners, ripped your plackards
From your hands. Your ranks
Were dispersed and beaten.
And although you attempted to
Regroup and engage in further
Demonstrations, the police
Moved you off the streets
Into isolation…
I now call my first witness,
Comrade Lashevich…
(Lashevich, an officer in uniform with numerous decorations, rises and is seated in the witness box.)
Comrade Lashevich, you
Particiated in the Tenth
Anniversary demonstrations,
Did you not?
LASHEVICH: Yes, I did so proudly as a
Member of the United Opposition.
BUKHARIN: So you admit this?
LASHEVICH: Indeed, I do.
BUKHARIN: And is it also the case that you
Led a “human wave: against
Mounted police who were
Lawfully engaged in halting
Your demonstration?
LASHEVICH: I most certainly did. Although
I object that we did anything
Unlawful.
BUKHARIN: That is not for you to determine,
Comrade Lashevich. And it it
Also the case that you went
So far as to attack a mounted
Policeman and drag him off
His horse?
LASHEVICH: I dragged him off his horse
And then helped him up to
His feet, saying: “You should
Be ashamed of attacking your
Fellow workers!”
BUKHARIN: Comrade Lashevich, you – who
Once, a general, commanded
Our armies in the field – now
Dare attack our own police?
It is you who should be
Ashamed! You are dismissed.
(Lashevich marches proudly out of the box and exists.)
BUKHARIN: As my next witness, I call
Comrade Mednev…
(Mednev enters and is seated in the witness box.)
BUKHARIN: Comrade Mednev, you were
Present on June 21st, at the
Yaroslav Railroad Station,
Where a farewell demonstration
Was held for comrade Smilga,
Were you not?
MEDNEV: Yes, I was present that day.
BUKHARIN: Would you describe for us
What you witnessed on that
Occasion?
MEDNEV: What appeared to be members
Of the United Opposition
Had gathered to demonstrate
Their protest against Smilga’s
Having been posted to
Desolate Knabrovsk.
BUKHARIN: And who spoke on that
Occasion?
MEDNEV: Comrade Trotsky, among others.
BUKHARIN: And what was the substance of
His speech, comrade Mednev?
MEDNEV: He spoke if the need for party
Democracy, and of the urgent
Need for a transition to a
Planned economy.
BUKHARIN: Then he spoke critically of our
Party and its current policies,
Did he not, comrade Mednev?
MEDNEV: He most certainly did.
BUKHARIN: Thank you, comrade Mednev,
You are dismissed…
(Mednev leaves the box and exits.)
I shall next call comrade Stalin…
(Stalin rises and enters the witness box.)
Comrade Stalin, to what do
You attribute the crimes of the
United Opposition?
STALIN: They all stem from Trotsky’s
Theory of “Permanent Revolution”.
BUKHARIN: Could you elaborate on that theme,
Comrade Stalin.
STALIN: Surely. After October our party
Lived through four great crises:
Brest Litovsk; the trade union
Controversy; NEP; and the
Present attack on the party.
And in all these crises comrade
Trotsky was proven wrong.
BUKHARIN: Could you explain this to us,
Stalin?
STALIN: At Brest Litovsk he was carried
Away by revolutionary phrases,
Utopian schemes. He failed to
Accept the reality that Lenin’s
Genius saw. Most of all, he
Failed to recognize that the
Peasantry did not want and was
Unable to continue to wage war.
BUKHARIN: And what was his crime in
The “Trade Union Controversy”?
STALIN: He threatened to militarize the
Trade unions, to tighten the
Screws of “War Communism”
In the face of fierce peasant
Resistance.
BUKHARIN: And what was his position in
Regard to the New Economic
Policy?
STALIN: His enthusiasm for planning at
Any cost would have
Established an absolute
Dictatorship of industry over
Agriculture.
BUKHARIN: And, finally, how do you explain
Comrade Trotsky’s current
Disregard for party discipline?
STALIN: I believe his current denunciation
Of the party is due to his “Theory
Of Permanent Revolution”. It
Would make us dependent on
Foreign nations, unable to go it
Alone. Trotskyism is nothing but
A variety of Menshivism, a deviation
From Leninism. The party must
Chose, once and for all, between
Leninism and Trotskyism!...
BUKHARIN: Thank you, comrade Stalin,
You are dismissed…
(Stalin rise and returns to his seat.)
My final witness will be
Comrade Trotsky.
(Trotsky rises and is seated in the witness box.)
Comrade Trotsky, is not the
Case that you, together with
Comrades Kamenev and Zinoviev,
On November 7th toured the
City in an automobile?
TROTSKY: Yes, this is true.
BUKHARIN: And did you not, on several
Occasions stop to harangue
Workers with speeches that
Attacked the party and its
Policies?
TROTSKY: My criticisms were legitimate
One directed against policies
Harmful to the party.
BUKARIN: It is the purpose of this tribunal
To determine their legitimacy.
The second count of the
Indictment charges you with
Helping organize a demonstration
And delivering a speech at the
Yaroslov Railway Station. Were
You present on that occasion,
Comrade Trotsky?
TROTSKY: Yes, I was present…
BUKHARIN: And did you not criticize the
Party’s decision to re-assign
Comrade Smilga to Knabrovsk?
There is certainly party work
To be done at Knabrovsky,
Is there not?
TROTSKY: Comrade Bukharin, surely you
Contradict yourself? If your
Assignment of comrade Smilga
To Knabrovsk was a routine
Re-assignment, then what were we
Protesting against, may I ask?
On the other hand, if it was
Really the exile of a member
Of the opposition, then you
Are duping the party, are
Guilty of sheer duplicity, of the
Banishing of a valuable member
Of the party needed at responsible
Posts. You cannot both claim
That comrade Smilga was sent
As a normal assignment and,
That we were demonstrating
Against the party. Such is
Political double dealing…
BUKHARIN: That is for this tribunal
To determine, not you,
Comrade Trotsky! You
Are dismissed!...
(Trotsky exits the witness box and returns to his seat.)
ORDJONIKIDZE: Would the prosecutor now
Present his closing statement…
(Bukharin rises to address the tribunal.)
BUKHARIN: In summation, rather than act
As a loyal opposition, in
Clear contravention of the ‘21
Ban on Factions – the accused
Have appealed directly to the
Workers, seeking to undermine
The discipline of our party. It
Met secretly, formed factions,
Distributed its platform in clear
Violation of the law. And at the
Head of this conspiracy was
Trotsky, with grand gestures
And romantic words. In his
Imagination the workers are
All heroes, not flesh and
Blood women and men. He
Made the same mistake at
Brest Litovsk, and you know
How dearly we paid for it
In Russian lives and land.
His notion of “Primitive
Socialist Acccumulation”
Would condemn millions
To exploitation and misery.
This “super-industrializer”
And enemy of the peasant
Would cause needless
Suffering to all the masses.
The opposition must come
To us with heads bowed
And upon their knees. They
Must confess and recant
Before the party. Nothing
Less than their expulsion
Will do. Trotskyism is
Intellectual dynamite placed
Beneath the foundations of
Our party, ready to blow us
To smithereens. We must
Liquidate it, annihilate it.
In your own words,
Comrade Trotsky, we will
Sweep you into the dustbin
Of history!...
(Bukharin returns to the prosecutor’s bench.)
ORDJONIKIDZE: The defense will now present
Its closing statement…
(Trotsky rises to address the Revolutionary Tribunal.)
TROTSKY: During the strenuous years
Of the civil war the workers
Endured cold, hunger and
Epidemics, worked week-
End shifts of hard labor,
Fought at the front on rest
Days, volunteered to load
Logs at railway station –
Only because it served the
Cause of international
Revolution. It was essential
That the soviet fortress
Held out. Every log went
Into buttressing that fortress.
Your persecution of the
Opposition, your denial of
Inner-party democracy, will
Result in fratricidal strife that
Threatens to undermine all
The conquests of October.
It spells the ultimate
Destruction of our party
And a mortal danger to
Our world revolution…
(Trotsky pauses.)
During the French Revolution
Many were guillotined. We,
Too, brought many before the
Firing squad. But there were
Two separate chapters in our great
French precursor: one went like this;
(He points upward.)
And the other went like this.
(He points downward.)
In the first chapter, when
The revolution moved upwards,
The Jacobins, the Bolsheviks of
Their time, guillotined royalists.
We, like them, shot White Guards.
But the a second chapter opened
When the Jacobin right – the
Thermidorians – began to execute
The left Jacobins. In which chapter,
Comrade Bukharin, are you
Preparing to have us shot?...
I fear that you have entered the
Chapter of the Soviet Thermidor.
And like that regime, your clique
Stifles all who dare criticize it.
A reign of terror was instituted,
Silence was compulsory, it was
Obbligatory to think in accord
With orders from above. And
The party, that was once a
Living organism, became a
Self-sufficent engine of power.
We should learn from the French
Revolution, but it is necessary to
Repeat its tragic mistakes?...We
Shall continue to criticize until
You’ve physically sealed our lips.
Though you expel us, you will
Not prevent our future victory.
After our turn will come your’s,
Comrade Bukharin. You have
Substituted party for class, faction
For party, and will finally replace
Your faction with a single man…
(Facing Stalin, and pointing his finger at him, he thunders.)
The General Secretary now poses his
Candidacy for the post of the
Grave-digger of the revolution!...
(Stalin rises, gasps, and storms out of the courtroom, slamming the door loudly behind him.)
Scene Twelve
A cemetery. Yoffe’s funeral. Trotsky stands at the head of the grave and addresses the mourners.
TROTSKY: On this past Sunday evening
Adolphe Abramovitch Yoffe
Committed suicide. In his
Farewell letter he wrote:
(Trotsky removes a letter from his pocket, unfolds it, places his pince-nez on and reads to them.)
“All my life I have been
Convinced that the
Revolutionary should know
When to make his exit, and
That he should make it when
He can no longer be of
Service to the cause to
Which he is devoted.
It has now been more than
Thirty years since I embraced
The view that our lives
Make sense only insofar
As we serve mankind.
Anything we do in its service
Will somehow survive. And
Through this our lives
Acquire significance.”
(Trotsky folds the letter, returns it to his pocket, removes his pince-nez and continues.)
As long as man is not
Yet master of society,
It will tower above him
Like Fate itself. And
Such mastery will not
Grow blindly like coral
Reefs beneath the sea.
It must be consciously
Created. Man will learn
To shift rivers, mountains
To build palaces on the
Heights of Mont Blanc and
At the bottom of the sea.
We are rich in resources
Which only wait to be
Transformed into power.
In the South the Dneiper
Runs, coursing through
Lands, wasting its force
And pressure. It only
Awaits our intervention:
To harness its streams;
Curb it with mighty dams;
To light our cities; power
Our factories; fructify our
Rich ploughed lands.
It was for the purpose of
Building such a society
That Adolphe Abramovitch
Lived each day of his life.
In the letter he left us, he
Insisted that sucide was
The only way left for him to
Protest our expulsion, to
Express the horror he felt
At our party’s destruction.
We had been friends ever
Since 1910 in Vienna. We
Joined the Bolshevik Party
And were members of the
Central Committee together.
At the time of the October
Revolution, he led our
Delegation to Brest Litovsk,
Was our first Ambassador to
Berlin. But, at the beginning
Of the year, he contracted
Tuberculosis; and when his
Physicians held out no hope
Unless he took a cure abroad,
The Politbureau refused to
Allow it. Bedridden, pain-stricken
And depressed by the savage
Onslaught on our Opposition,
He finally blew his brains out.
But let none presume to judge him.
He left us only when he had
Nothing else to give but his life.
He left us not because he did not
Wish to fight, but only because he
Lacked the strength to fight, and
Feared becoming a burden on
The rest of us. Difficulties never
Fazed him. He remained at the
Same even keel as a member of
The Military Revolutionary Committee
In Petrograd in October of 1917;
As on the battleground outside the
City during the Civil War when
Yudenich’s cannons burst all around
Us; an as he did at the diplomatic
Table at the conference of Brest Litovsk
His life – not his suicide – serves as our example…
The struggle goes on…
Everyone remains at his post…
Let no one leave.
(Black out.)
THE END
In memory of Isaac Deutscher, author of The Prophet,
without which this play would never have been written.